My Handyman poured a concrete (Quickcrete I think) stoop for my back door on wednesday and he did not fill it to the top of the frame like I expected so I asked him to come back to top it off. Was supposed to do it the next day but now it is 3 days later and he has not done it. In the event that he shows up, is it too late to do it since it is dry? One might think he would know the answer to this question but he has done some questionable things in the past.
He also said the wood frame needs to stay on for 10 days... is that true? I have seen this done on DIY shows where they have a 2 day window and they take them off so does not seem right.
In case it matters, I am in south florida where the temp has been about 70deg and no rain.
thanks!

 

10 days? I'm no concrete expert...but even I know that concrete doesn't dry..it cures through a chemical reaction from the stuff its made from and water. I poured a stepdown from our yard to the alley behind the house and took the forms off after 2 days, and that may have been kinda long, but it was about 12" thick. It was plenty hard on the outside and stepping surface..though the interior may have taken a while longer to completely set-up, I don't know for sure.

Just for the Pro's to be able to give you a better answer...how much more needs to be added into the form? 1/2" or 2 " or ???? It may make a difference on what product they suggest you use.

 

Well first off to pour a new slab of concrete over the other.. a few steps have to be taken... first is chip away the concrete so it has a rough surface... dont have to be even or not... then after he would have to roll on a bonding agent for the new pour of concrete will adhere to it. Then next is pour the new concrete and go as normal. But if its only a half inch or an inch... well just chipping away the surface may become more than chipping away the surface to removing an inch off the recently poured

 

The form may have been larger than the finished size. Did he finish the surface, i.e. trowel and/or broom it?

Forms do not need to stay on 10 days and are usually removed the next day.

If indeed he has to add more concrete over the old, unless it is 2-3 inches or more, he needs to rent a jackhammer and start over or use a repair mortar designed for that situation.

 

Thanks so much for your responses. I know the concrete does not necessarily have to come up to the top of the forms but that is how I wanted it and the step feels a little awkward at the current height.
The new addition to the top step will be about 1 1/4" over a slab that is ~18" thick and 56" long and 30" wide.
When he poured the original slab he said he would come back after it started to set to smooth it out but he did not so it has a sort of bubbly surface that is the other reason I want to add to it.
He showed up this afternoon to drop off the cement and I specifically asked him if it would be ok to pour now that it has dried this long (he claims he will do it tomorrow but I will believe it when i see it.) and he said it would be fine but what else was he going to say?
So, given that this is the state I am in, am I better off leaving well enough alone and accepting the lower height and bad surface look (I am planning to paint it eventually).
jackhammering it up might be the right thing to do but I would have to pay more to get him to do it (I probably should not have to but arguing is not worth it to me). So if he were to pour over it without that what will happen and when? I gather it will fracture over time but what time scale might we be talking about? 1 year? 5 years? 8 years? If he were to use the bonding material without chipping it up would that at least help?
I had a feeling that was a load of BS about the forms... He tells me whatever is convenient for him but I am surprised b/c that is a pretty easy task that would take a few minutes right?
Just for the record this will be the last task he does for me. I found a better more professional guy but this was kind of left over from before I ditched him.